DeSaulnier Announces Legislation to Prevent Theft of Federal Law Enforcement Weapons

Washington, DC  – Today, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) announced the introduction of the Federal Law Enforcement and Public Protection Act, a bill to create minimum standards to prevent federal law enforcement officers’ service weapons from becoming lost and stolen. In recent years in the Bay Area and across the nation, fatal shootings and other crimes have taken place that used weapons stolen from federal law enforcement officers.

“The intention of federal law enforcement agencies is to keep the public safe. When their own weapons are being used against them and in other acts of violence, they are not fulfilling that job,” said Congressman Mark DeSaulnier. “To improve public safety, we need to improve the standards for officer gun safety and storage.”

Although there are nearly 80 federal law enforcement agencies, there is currently no federal standard in place for officers to safely lock and store their guns. Federal Law Enforcement and Public Protection Act bill would require standards for federal law enforcement officers to lock their weapons when they are not in use, and would institute a reporting mechanism to better understand the severity of this problem.

This bill would also provide officers with information about the dangers of keeping an unlocked gun in the home.

Congressman DeSaulnier previously sent a letter to President Obama requesting executive action requiring federal agencies to establish protocols for securing firearms that are not in use. The murders of Kate Steinle and Antonio Ramos were both perpetrated with stolen federal law enforcement weapons. In addition to the incidents in San Francisco, there have recently been several reports in the media of federal law enforcement officers either having their weapons stolen or misplacing them, including by the Capitol Police and Secret Service.